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Did You Know?

Trivia:

The director Allan King lived with the Edwards family before, during and after the course of filming. He chose them not out of proximity, though, but because they had the most personality out of all the other married candidates.See more »

A MARRIED COUPLE is a
classic; a seminal film in the Direct Cinema movement, in its heyday
during
the late 1960's. Light years before all this "reality TV" dreck,
documentary filmmakers were doing projects without the traditional
narration
to the camera, or voiceovers.. just attempting to capture things as they
naturally unfold. The great dichotomy of this practice of course, is just
how much of this stuff is real that they are putting on
film?

Be it with a Bolex in the 1960's or a mini-DV camera today, the basic
argument has not changed. The camera is still too powerful a tool to
ignore
if it is in plain view. Sometimes with Direct Cinema, these projects
seem
like the director is saying, "the film's rolling; put on a show for me".
Perhaps A MARRIED COUPLE is the best example of this feeling. Whatever
the
case, it remains a hilarious, shocking, upsetting, bristling piece of
work.
In 90 minutes (with footage culled from months of staying with this
couple),
we watch the disintegration of the marriage between Billy and Antoinette
Edwards. The way in which Allan King captures these desperate moments
(and
these two fight about everything, believe me) is unequalled in standard
narrative film, except perhaps works by John Cassavetes. The fact that
these two are screaming at each other over every little thing is hilarious
theatre at first, but the effect soon becomes saddening. Plus, one cannot
help but wonder if the intrusion of the film crew is partially responsible
for their own marriage breakdown.

Taking the theory, "put on a show for me", do the Edwards' begin to
believe
their own feelings that they vent on film? Few pieces of cinema
constantly
test the viewer's ability to discern reality within such a natural
setting.
And although the film is a documentary (albeit perhaps not wholly
completely
one), it does have a standard A to B narrative progression-- as it begins
with sweetness and kissing, and then just declines from there. On those
terms, this might be remarkable for just being a documentary about a
marriage coming apart. However, once one learns that these scenes were
not
shot sequentially, a whole new set of issues arise. What are we really
seeing?

But still, A MARRIED COUPLE is an astonishing piece of work which is
worthy
for its subject matter as well as its paradoxical approach. No other film
illustrates late 1960's suburban milieu with such sad poetry. You
understand how and why people get into ruts by being married to people
they
can no longer stand, in these posh surroundings. The unhappiness of
executive life outside of the office is laid bare. (In hindsight this
film
anticipated the escalating divorce statistics of the 1970's.) How on
Earth
did this couple put their trust in Allan King to reveal themselves so
completely to the camera? In one astonishing scene, Antoinette reveals to
a
co-worker over lunch that she had an extra-marital affair!! (Imagine
Billy
when he saw the finished film.)

I don't believe that the Edwards' are saying anything or behaving in any
fashion that they do not mean, but I would guess that the presence of the
camera nonetheless heightened their emotional outbursts. In any case,
they
are damned convincing actors, and A MARRIED COUPLE remains an
unforgettable,
hair-raising film that also speaks layers about film language.

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